Blue Steel Bride by P. Creeden

Author:P. Creeden [Creeden, P.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-09-10T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 5

Before Ruth’s niece had shown up, Ethan would have just knocked on the door and then let himself in. But behaving that way now seemed inappropriate. Part of him wondered how he’d ever gotten away with it in the past. This time, he continued standing on the porch after knocking, hoping that Ruth wasn’t going to hurt herself as she came to answer the door. But when the door finally came open, standing in the doorway was not Ruth—it was Tabitha.

Her brown hair had been braided to both sides of her neck each day that he’d seen her, but somehow, today the braids were just a little bit looser and the soft, shy smile that spread across her lips seemed almost as inviting as the style of her hair. How was it that seeing her a little more relaxed looking than usual put him at ease as well? He offered her the pie that he held. “For dessert.”

She lifted a brow. “Did you bake it?”

Heat blossomed in his cheeks as he rubbed the back of his neck, trying to get away from the sudden feeling of embarrassment that took hold of him. “No, ma’am. I bought it at the cafe. I just didn’t want to come on your invitation empty-handed.”

She blinked and tilted her head slightly. The setting sun behind him cast a golden glow upon her. She looked especially pretty in that lighting. With a nod, she took the pie. “There wasn’t any need, but thank you. I’m sure the pie will be delicious.”

Finally, she stepped back and waved him in. He wrung his hat in his hands. Maybe he should have tried to get a bath in before coming. He’d been working hard out in the shop most of the day and had washed up, put on clean clothes, but he hadn’t had time for a full bath and time to get the pie from the cafe. Maybe he should have skipped the pie. He was second guessing himself. Earlier he’d decided to forgo the full bath in order to get the pie, and now he was thinking maybe he should have done the opposite. His stomach twisted at the problem. Why was he feeling this way over just going to Ruth’s house for dinner? He missed how comfortable he used to feel.

“Ethan! I hope you brought your appetite along with that pie,” Ruth said as the two of them made their way into the dining room.

It relieved Ethan to find the places set for three. “I did. I’m just about hungry enough to eat a horse.”

“Excellent,” Ruth said with a smile. “I made enough to feed a horse, for certain.”

They both laughed at their inside joke, as they often used these exact phrases whenever Ethan came for dinner. He shot a glance toward Tabitha who smiled as she set plates of food before each place setting. She looked up at him. “Have a seat.”

He stood behind the chair but was unsure what he should do. Wouldn’t

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.